1. His decision to not discuss Mike Babcock's contract status in the media (the Wings' PR staff informed the Toronto media corps that Babcock would not answer questions about his contract at the morning skate),

2. The fact that so many former Wings coaches or players (Brendan Shanahan, Bill Peters, Paul MacLean, Jim Nill, Todd McLellan, Steve Yzerman, etc. etc.) have gone on to make meaningful impacts upon other teams;

The Detroit Red Wings today signed winger Tyler Bertuzzi to a three-year contract. In accordance with club policy, additional details will not be disclosed.

Bertuzzi, 19, is in his fourth season with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League and has tallied five points (1-4-5) in six games to start the 2014-15 campaign. Named an alternate captain on Guelph this season, the winger helped the Storm capture the OHL Championship last season and advance to the Memorial Cup championship game. The 6-foot-1, 190-lb., forward led the Memorial Cup with five goals in four games. In all, Bertuzzi has recorded 78 points (29-49-78) and 247 penalty minutes in 139 games with Guelph over the last four seasons (2011-14). The Sudbury, Ontario native was drafted in the second round (58th overall) by the Red Wings in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

KK member tbhug penned a "members' blog entry" that you may have not seen, and I believe that it needs more bandwidth, so:

Hello fellow Kukla's Korner Readers,

I'm writing you regarding a dear friend of mine. She is the single mother raising an autistic child.

His lifelong dream is to play for the Detroit Red Wings. She has spent her life providing for her son, often working several jobs to fund his passions. She has little, if any outside financial support. She posted on her Facebook that her son would no longer be able to play hockey due to financial restrictions. I know this is crushing her, and I know that he will be devastated if he can't play. I'm asking for your support in helping Nassim achieve his dream, if nothing else, help keep him playing the game we all love.

I know how much my family sacrificed to make sure I could play, and it breaks my heart to hear of someone who does everything for her son realizing she just can't make his dreams come true because of money. I am asking all of you, if you can, just to give a little bit to make sure Nassim can play hockey. Thanks!!!

Great News!!! Nassim and Aleen have been invited to be the guest of Darren Helm at an upcoming Red Wings game in November!!! We have raised enough for the coming month for Nassim to stay on the ice!! But, we need more support. Please share this with your friends, and give. Every little bit counts. Thanks Brigid Bresnihan @DetroitRedWings #DarrenHelmRocks !!!

When I fell head-over-heels in love with hockey back in 1991, the Colorado Avalanche played in Quebec, the Anaheim Ducks weren't even a movie yet, the San Jose Sharks had just plucked a crapton of players from the Minnesota North Stars in a "dispersal draft," Larry Murphy was winning Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Wings had a bench-clearing brawl against a Boston Bruins team whose ranks included Cam Neely, Ray Bourque, Adam Oates and Andy Moog.

In 1991, the Red WIngs had two main rivals in the Norris Division, the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs. Even then, going into Toronto was more than all but a guaranteed fight between Probert and somebody and a tough game; it also meant dealing with a massive press push, knowing that Hockey Night in Canada's Bob Cole, Harry Neale, and of course Ron MacLean and Don Cherry would invoke epithets regarding the dastardly presence of Swedes (Nicklas Lidstrom and, for a while, Per Djoos) and Russkies (Sergei Fedorov and Vladimor Konstantinov) on the team from De-TROY-it.

The rest of the world is just catching on to this whole, "Joe Louis Arena is going to be demolished after the Red Wings leave it" situation, finally realizing that this is so via the bankruptcy deal struck between the City of Detroit and Financial Guarranty Insurance, a.k.a. FGIC, to settle the last outstanding debt the City owed.

So for those of you who aren't familiar with the situation, here's how the local TV stations are reporting the news, starting with WDIV...

About The Malik Report

The Malik Report is a destination for all things Red Wings-related. I offer biased, perhaps unprofessional-at-times and verbose coverage of my favorite team, their prospects and developmental affiliates. I've joined the Kukla's Korner family with five years of blogging under my belt, and I hope you'll find almost everything you need to follow your Red Wings at a place where all opinions are created equal and we're all friends, talking about hockey and the team we love to follow.